Tell Me Love's Not Lost Across The Great Divide
by raeghan
Summary: Zoe walks in on Wade in a suit. Set after The Race & The Relationship but before The Big Day


"Wade?"

She calls his name in question even though she's sure that he's home. His car is out front and she's been home all day and hasn't seen him walk off.

She stops herself from walking into his place without knocking because even though he barges into her place all the time (or at least he used to) the stakes are higher when she's the one not knocking. She's not sure what she's going to walk in on at his place and she really doesn't want to see something she's not meant to.

Plus she's not really sure where she stands with him since Lavon told her how he feels about her and she ruined his chance at five thousand dollars to open his bar just so she could talk to George. It's a different feeling having him be the one that's upset and disappointed in her.

She raises her hand and knocks on his door and waits for a response.

"Hold on."

She hears his voice from the other side of the door followed by a few footsteps that don't sound like they're coming closer.

"You can come in." He calls again and she takes a deep breath before she pulls the door open.

"Hey, Wade…" She stops talking abruptly when she sees him.

He's standing in front of the mirror that's hanging on the back of his closet door with his back to her, wearing a suit. It's black and simple but fits him perfectly as does the dark blue dress shirt that he's wearing underneath it. She's never seen him so dressed up and it's a little disorienting.

His fingers are trying to smooth out the collar of his shirt as he looks at her over his shoulder.

"I know the power's out. It's something to do with the rain." He nods towards the foggy, grey, sky out the window. "Every time it rains now something happens to it. I think water's getting in there…." He trails off with a shake of his head as he drops his arms.

It takes her a second to realize that he's stopped speaking because she was too busy staring at him.

"Water and electricity. That doesn't sound safe." She mumbles.

"It's not." This time when he looks at her he gives her a small smile. "I've only been shocked a few times so…."

"Ah. Finally an explanation." She says and the small smile on his face widens like he's happy that she made the joke because it's possible that he hates awkwardness more than she does.

He turns his head back around to look into the mirror and pulls the sleeves of the suit jacket down then clears his throat to break the silence because neither of them is talking and she's still hovering by the door looking at him.

He makes eye contact with her in the mirror.

"I'll fix it." He tells her and watches how her eyes go wide for a moment because she's been caught.

"Alright." She shuffles her feet but doesn't move out the door. "No rush or anything."

"That's a first."

"Is that a new suit?"

"What?" He turns around to face her.

"The suit." She points and takes a few steps closer to him. "Is it new—is it for the wedding?"

"Yeah, yeah it is." He tenses up because she's standing next to him now. "I wanted to make sure that it fit before the wedding. Or I guess I should say that Lemon wanted me to make sure that it fit before the wedding. She made me get a new one because the other one that I have, I've only worn to funerals and she said that I couldn't wear it to her wedding because it's too morbid. I don't know why she cares so much. It's not like I'm in the wedding or anything. Nobody is going to be looking at me. I also don't know why I listened to her."

"Lemon is pretty scary on a regular basis so I can't imagine what she's like while she's planning the wedding." The word _wedding_ rolls off her lips leaving a bitter taste in her mouth that causes her to wrinkles her nose.

"I think she just wants things to go perfectly."

"When doesn't she?"

"Yeah, but it is her wedding." He shrugs like he's not making a huge point to say that Zoe is in no position to judge anything about this. "Are you going?"

"I don't know. I got an invitation but I don't know if I'll go now. Might skip it."

"That might be for the best."

She drags her eyes away from his and looks at his reflection.

"It might be a good thing that you got another suit. You'll never know when you're going to wear it."

"It's a waste of money. I already had a suit."

"But it's a good idea to get a new one every once in awhile. You got to update it. When did you get the other one?"

"For my high school graduation."

"High school? God, Wade. Lemon was doing you a favor."

"I have worn that suit twice since I got it and I will wear this one just once."

"You don't know that."

"Yes I do. I don't do this kind of thing. It's making me uncomfortable." He shifts a little and she laughs softly.

"I think you're making yourself uncomfortable." She puts her hand on his back and he immediately tenses. "Relax. Stand up straight and put your shoulders back. You know how you are usually? Just be like that."

"How am I like usually?"

"You know….confident. Over confident most of the time." She smiles at him as he frowns at her. "You have to act like you don't care what people are thinking about you because-."

"I care what people think about me." He interrupts and she takes her hand away from his back. His face is set hard and serious and she's reminded of just how hurt he really is. "I do care."

"Okay, okay. I'm sorry. I didn't mean anything by it."

That serious expression is still on his face and she wants to get rid of it as quickly as possible.

"It looks good on you."

That does the trick and a shy smirk turns the corners of his mouth up just slightly.

"Really? I think it makes me look stuffy."

"No, no, not at all. Trust me, I have seen a lot of men wearing suits in my life and I know what a stuffy man wearing a suit looks like and you're not it." She pulls the sides of his jacket together and buttons it then turns them both towards the mirror. "You look very good."

"Well, thank you." He looks down at her. "But I still can't wait to get out of it."

"You don't see a future career for yourself wearing a suit anytime soon?"

"No. Definitely not. I'm not like that. You know, I'm not George."

It's a challenge or an insult. It's something like that. No way was it an innocent remark or comparison. There's always more to it than that.

Her eyebrows knit together as she tries to figure out a way to answer because the way that he's looking at her—all parted lips and soft eye—let her know that he's asking for some kind of come back.

She could just agree with him because he is right. He's not George. George is so easy to get along with and Wade is a constant argument. Wade is a fight. If things were to ever work out between her and George it would be simple and carefree but with Wade—they'd have to claw their way through everything. She could see how they would be. They'd be an hour long argument that would stretch on for weeks and months and years and he would try to fix it with a kiss or sex because that's how he fixes things and she'd give into him because it's him but then he'd say something stupid and she'd get pissed and they'd be right back at it. They'd never slow down. They'd never settle.

But that might be the point. She doesn't want to slow down and she doesn't want to settle.

She squares her shoulders to him and presses her hands against his chest.

"You are not George."

His eyes drop from hers in rejection but when she presses her fingertips into his chest a little harder his eyes reconnect with hers.

"Because you look so much better in a suit." She whispers.

He laughs and his hands graze her hips before she moves away towards the door.

"Fix the power, Wade." She tosses over her shoulder.

She hears him laugh and she can imagine that if they were to get together there would be a lot of laughing.

"Not unless you ask me nicely, Doc."

She gives him one last look over her shoulder at him in that suit with that smile on his face.

If Wade Kinsella is a fight, Zoe Hart is a fighter.


End file.
